


I'm Yours

by gaydaractivate04



Series: The Adventures of Ambassador Sokka [7]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), Can be read as a stand alone, Early Morning Adventures, Fire Lord Zuko, Fluff, Gay Zuko (Avatar), I Hope You Smile, Kisses, Marriage Proposal, Prince Consort Sokka, Tired Zuko (Avatar), Zuko (Avatar) Deserves Nice Things, Zuko actually gets them (him), happy valentine's day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 08:20:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29450679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaydaractivate04/pseuds/gaydaractivate04
Summary: Fire Lord Zuko was happy, content, for the first time in a long time. His nation is stable, the economy slowly rebuilding itself, the children laughing at school instead of on battlefields.He wakes up, every morning, to Sokka asleep beside him.He wants to be able to look over and see him like that, hair strewn over this face, peaceful, for the rest of their lives.OrIt's Valentine's Day and I realized I've never read a Zukka proposal story.
Relationships: Katara/Aang (Avatar) (mentioned), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: The Adventures of Ambassador Sokka [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1793116
Comments: 37
Kudos: 241





	I'm Yours

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all!! I'm getting my wisdom teeth pulled out on Thursday and so I wrote this super fast to get it out to you in time, before I'm jacked up on painkillers.
> 
> As said in the tags, this can be read as a stand alone. It's a time jump from the previous ones, though, about a year and a half later.
> 
> I wrote this because I wanted to make people smile, and because I realized I actually haven't read a fic that was just the proposal -- ones where they got married, sure, but not one that actually focused on the proposal and things leading up to it.
> 
> Also, I have to write this one so that I can write the one story that started the idea of this entire series.
> 
> I really hope you enjoy it!! Happy Valentine's Day!!

Zuko was the one who proposed. He knew Sokka liked shopping, liked glitter bits and expensive daggers -- there was that disastrous shopping trip that ended up lasting an entire day, depleting Zuko’s personal allowance as Fire Lord, a law he’d put in place after the previous rulers hadn’t cared to.

Sokka was, immediately afterward, given his own allowance, which was  _ much _ smaller.

But Sokka  _ loved  _ shopping, and that made it very difficult for Zuko to look for the materials he knew he’d need. Chief Hakoda had been specific in how the necklaces were to be made, the tools that were to be used, the material he carved. 

Sneaking out on a  _ shopping trip _ was one of the last things Zuko ever expected to do.

Katara was now in line for Chief of the Southern Water Tribe, a title Zuko knew she’d take with pride, obliterating one misogynist at a time. The master waterbender could be very scary when she wants to, turning from kind healer to vengeful warrior in the span of a sentence.

Her future position secure, Aang and Katara now traveled the world, doing more sight seeing and saving kittens from trees -  _ as Sokka had put it _ \- than saving entire kingdoms. It was a well deserved rest, before the waterbender took on more responsibility.

Toph had just started her own metalbending school and sent monthly updates to Zuko, the letters presumably transcribed by one of her apprentices. She is not impressed with her students. Zuko can’t help but pity them -- being on the receiving end of Toph’s teaching methods did not look fun.

He’d spoken with Sokka about the possibility of marriage, the laws banning same-sex relationships long since overturned. The other man had been enthusiastic, to say the least, especially after hearing his sister could take his place as the next chief.

That had been the main roadblock -- Sokka fearing he was abandoning his people.

Zuko picked out the perfect ribbon, after three hours of scouring the marketplace. It was hard to find blue ribbon, let alone fabric, in the heart of the Fire Nation, but he finally did. The markets of his nation were slowly becoming more diverse, stalls run by merchants of other kingdoms.

Plum stew was  _ delicious,  _ and Zuko was delighted to find that, after Sokka expected him to hate it.

It took him hours and hours and  _ hours _ to carve the pendant perfectly. There were too many thrown aside, the circle more of an oval, the angles too sharp, the carvings too deep. He ignored the raised eyebrows from his personal guards, when they opened the door to his office and found him hunched over his latest attempt.

There were so many close calls with Sokka, his partner bursting in, Zuko concealing the pendant best he could with his sleeve or shoving it under a sheath of papers.

He could almost hear Azula’s voice in his head,  _ oh Zuzu, trying so hard to carve a  _ rock _ for his true love. The two of you were made for each other. _

When he finally finished it, he kept the betrothal necklace in his robe pockets at all times, switching it from one article of clothing to another -- except when he went to sleep, when he kept it in the drawer of the bedside table. He was nervous there would be a  _ perfect _ moment, and he’d miss it.

  
  


_______________

  
  


The first time was while they were sparring, in the private courtyard used only by the royal family and the tutors of their children. Sokka had him pinned, laughing, straddling him while Zuko cursed up at him.

Cursed at Sokka’s stupid,  _ pretty  _ eyes for distracting him and his dumb smile for making him trip, swords far out of his reach, while Sokka roared with laughter over him.

Zuko almost asked right there and then, their happiness filling a courtyard that had never felt such a feeling. He had the necklace wrapped in silk, scraps left from a new set of robes, which he kept so it wouldn’t get damaged -

A throat was cleared at the entryway, a servant announcing himself and reminding Zuko of his next meeting, as Sokka rolled off him and pulled him to his feet.

  
  


_______________

  
  


The second was during a conference, after Sokka  _ destroyed _ a bastard of an ambassador. The pompous, Earth Kingdom man had insulted -  _ in turn _ \- his sister, the cook, a servant, and Zuko, though the last one was far more subtle than the first few.

Zuko had been ready to smack him since the man had started insulting staff.

Instead, since he had to present as a welcoming host, Sokka did the job for him, replacing the physical violence for an utterly humiliating dress down of the man’s life.

By the time he finished, Zuko was seconds from taking his lover’s hands and kneeling right there, the necklace a heavy weight dragging down his pocket. The conversation started again and the chance -

The chance was lost.

  
  


_______________

  
  


The third was in the library, sun falling perfectly over Sokka, as he worked on his most recent drawing attempt, tongue sticking out and brow furrowed in concentration. Zuko didn’t understand how the warrior could draw such  _ amazing _ technical diagrams and not be able to make a single living thing recognizable.

It was peaceful, tranquil, the library providing refuge for the both of them. Zuko’s hand drifted to his side, fingers slipping into the folds of his robes, and he opened his mouth, preparing to call for Sokka’s attention -

A tittering group of noblewomen strode in, their attendants trailing after them, and the moment was ruined as they spread among the shelves.

Sokka rolled his eyes after a particularly loud comment from one of them, her voice leaking contempt as she pulled a scroll out and clumsily fit it back in, her attendant offering a quiet suggestion as the lady sneered.

They left Sokka’s drawing to dry, the ink too wet for transport, on their desk. It had become theirs after a few months of constant use -- the librarian had given up on making it neat, only asking that they remember to return their scrolls.

Later, when Zuko’s pressed up into an alcove, Sokka’s mouth on his neck and hands up his shirt, he found he didn’t mind that the chance got taken.

  
  


_______________

  
  


Late at night, while they’re walking through the outer halls, stars and dim lanterns lighting their way. The guards follow far behind, and the beads in Sokka’s hair catch the candlelight.

  
  


_______________

  
  


They sleep in, one morning, and their room is warm while they lay there, Zuko’s head pillowed on Sokka’s stomach.

  
  


_______________

  
  


By the turtleduck pond, eating lunch, Zuko laughing as Sokka struggled to open his mouth wide enough, attempting to fit a monstrous bite inside.

  
  


_______________

  
  


It finally happens when Zuko leasts expects it, for all the preparations he made. It happens in the kitchens -- Chef Saio still glared when Sokka gets too close to that day’s breakfast, but she once made him a Southern Water Tribe specialty when he had a cold, so Zuko knew she liked Sokka.

It was one of the few times Sokka joined him in his early morning wanderings, though they’d become less regular with a person to sleep next to. Zuko had been crying in his sleep, this time -  _ better than screaming _ \- and Sokka refused to leave him to deal with the aftermath alone.

He’d just finished heating the tea, his hands shaking so bad he can barely pick up the kettle. Sokka took the pot, gently, and poured it for him, blowing on the tea in an endearing show of love, before he handed it to Zuko.

_ What had he ever done to deserve this man? This kind, sweet man, who blew on a firebender’s tea. _

He took the cup with a smile, sighing with content as he breathed in the jasmine steam. He sipped, carefully, his filter escaping him for a moment as he spoke. “Marry me.”

The kitchen fell dead silent, the guards straightening from their slumped positions at the walls, the clatter of cookware slowing and stopping.

_ Oh, Agni. _

Sokka stared at him, wide eyes, and went, “Did you mean that?”

_ Did he- in what world  _ wouldn’t _ he? _

Zuko was so lucky he automatically grabbed the necklace on his way out of their rooms, and it weighs heavy, tucked in the pocket of his pants. He swallowed, setting the cup of tea down on the counter, conscious of the four workers and two guards.

He took Sokka’s hands, squeezing once, gently, and got down on his knees, giving a watery grin at his partner’s awed expression. The one and only time a Fire Lord kneels to someone perceived as  _ below  _ them -- when they ask for the privilege of holding another’s heart.

“Sokka,” he began, the words drying up in his throat as the other man  _ beamed. _ Spirits, he was so beautiful. Zuko tried again. “Sokka, I’d hoped the day would come where I could wake up and know you’ll be here forever. And I -”

Zuko had a speech prepared, one he’d drafted over and  _ over, _ until he could recite it in his sleep, until every word was perfect. He couldn’t remember a single sentence, the entire script gone blank in his mind.

The look Sokka was giving him made up for it, though, that happiness and  _ love _ shining so bright Zuko might as well have been looking at the sun, with all its radiant warmth.

“I love you,” he said instead, the simple words both too little and just enough to encompass their relationship. “I love you, Sokka, and I want to wake up to you  _ every day. _ You are everything to me. Will you marry me?”   
  


The laugh Sokka gave was almost hysterical, high and sharp, thick with tears. “Yes,  _ yes, _ of course I’ll marry you.”

His betrothed pulled Zuko to his feet, and Zuko’s hands shook as he tied the necklace around Sokka’s neck, the ribbon slipping through his fingers like water as he fumbled with the knot.

Sokka kissed him, and Zuko could hear cheering, whistles, faint in the background.

Sokka kissed him, and Zuko felt untouchable, invincible, the warmth of a thousand sun cycles blooming in his chest as he kissed back, arms flung around the other man’s neck, his hands threaded in brown hair. 

Sokka kissed him, and it felt like it could never end.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Those last couple lines?
> 
> Foreshadowing.


End file.
